Out into the world
by Sainalone
Summary: She met a druid like her who seemed to enjoy playing with her mind. Her mind could be changed, right?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Warcraft belongs to Blizzard. Quests, characters, abilities belong to Blizzard too. I take some of the names (not affiliated with NPCs of course) and how I progress the story in my own words.

* * *

Chapter 1

Many night elves, when born, are destined to be great warriors. While some go with mage, some go with rogue, druid is the class many prefer to learn and master. One can be vicious like a wolf, one can be strong like a bear, and one can soar high like a crow. Being able to shapeshift is considered to be a gift from nature. But only few can truly master the art of shapeshifting.

Not only taking form of animals, some can become a tree in aid of healing and some can take on the legendary Moonkin form and master the power of astral. As a young druid grows up, he or she must face many challenges in the way. Surviving alone deep in the woods, living with an animal family to learn about it, harnessing the power of the sun and the moon, these are just little steps of becoming a great druid.

When entering adulthood, the elves are open to the world outside their homeland, Teldrassil. They can leave and go out on their adventure or stay and teach the newer generations and help purifying Teldrassil. And with some last favors, the young are now free.

* * *

Saying goodbye to her parents once again, she began her day right away. Unlike other women, she insisted on going outside into the real world. While both of her parents chose to stay and worked before meeting with each other, adventuring is more fun for her. And this day will open her real adventure.

The wind blew, leaves strewn all over the road. It was a good day for her, and the weather seemed to be happy about it. After a walk from her home in Dalanaar to Shadowglen, she met with her quest giver for many young elves. And after some minutes of talking, she set off to work.

"Now go and thin their numbers or the other creatures will suffer. Just don't let them sink their fangs into you." Ilthalaine gave his task to her for his training.

It has been raining heavily in spring this year. This caused some beasts to flourish while others suffered. And so, the nightsaber numbers grew too large and began to harm others. In order to balance the system, ending some of their breath will do. Luckily, they are not as dangerous as other animals out there. This might be a cakewalk for her.

With some searching, she managed to find a pack of them. Not so far from her people, if anything went wrong, she could run back to them. Observing carefully, she noticed eight of them in total. For the population in Shadowglen, eight is enough to lessen their threat for days; other new adventurers will take care for the rest of the spring. Reaching behind her for her wooden staff, she began charging solar power from the sun into the staff.

'Forgive me...' she muttered to herself before she swung her staff when the tip glowed to its fullness. A ball of sun ray emanated from it and flew towards one of the saber, disappearing as it was absorbed into the body. The saber was then knocked backward by the jolt before scrambling up again. The others noticed but before they could turn to face their attacker, another ball of light crashed into another one of them. The group then growled before charging at the young druid.

Conjuring solar and lunar power is her favorite as she can deal with her problems at long range and it is effective too. While she can shapeshift, she chose not as it doesn't fit her style unless in some certain situations. And she isn't familiar with the Moonkin form yet.

She continued to fling light balls at the sabers as they charged at her, knocking them over until four of them were half the way. Two more flew backward before one more followed. Finally one managed to caught up to her but when it reached her, it stopped suddenly. The attacker just faded into thin air, leaving them confused. It sniffed for a while, knowing she was there, it couldn't find her and walked back to the wounded pack.

A beam of light stabbed its eyes as it turned back again, but it was too late. A great heat rumbled in its body and knocked it backward. Getting up again, it saw unbelievable sight; the elf didn't move at all. But with the great pain jolting all over the body, halting it from moving, it accepted its fate.

* * *

In front of her were eight lifeless bodies of nightsaber. Looking from outside, one might not see any sign of fighting but their insides were roasted. Without hesitating, the young elf walked towards them and took out a small blade.

With some slicing, she got eight pairs of saber fangs in her bag; as a proof for her trainer. Standing up, she whispered some prayers to her victims before they slowly faded away. Who knows what magic did that or by the power of Elune, it kept Teldrassil free of unpleasant sight. Without much thinking, she strolled back to Ilthalaine.

On the way, she saw familiar sight from her childhood. She used to come and play in Shadowglen with other young elves hundreds years ago; around ten years in human age. She didn't come here for a long time when she started to study about druid. But things haven't changed much at all, thistle boar running around, nightsaber chasing each other, cruel grells that used to pick on her before.

By the time she was thinking, she already reached her trainer with a huntress and a priestess on their nightsaber mount. She could hear them talking about the corruption of Teldrassil when it should have already been purified some time ago but some will always linger. When he noticed her, Ilthalaine informed the riders about her becoming a full druid this year but won't be much aid to the purification. Before taking their leave, the priestess gave her some blessings whether to stay and help cleansing the new world tree or leaving for her own destiny.

"Study well; we may need your aid for the next time if you stay here, though." Priestess Dentaria said to her before riding her nightsaber away with the huntress. Turning her attention to waiting elf, she pulled out the fangs from her bag before handing them to him. He took a look at them and nodded as a sign of approval before taking them for future decorations. Sighing, he was ready to give her a task again.

"As you have heard, the corruption of Teldrassil was never cleansed. But you are planning on leaving and go out to the world. Before you go, I would like you to gather some fel moss from the grelkins to the west of us. It would be useful information… and also you should check out with Melithar, he seems to be upset lately." said Ilthalaine as he nodded his head in the direction where two figures were sitting on a bench.

Knowing what to do, the she elf went over to them, finding a druid sitting with his head in his hands while the other was soothing him. She went closer until they noticed her before they made up again. The druid seemed to be Melithar while the woman beside him was someone she knew.

"Miss Dirania, is there something I can help?" Asked the young druid, the woman she didn't meet for some time.

"Yes darling. Melithar has a problem, not me. You should talk to him yourself." Dirania said to her, one of the children she had taken care of when they came and played in Shadowglen at young age. When the young went and trained in their class, Dirania didn't see them lately anymore. Lucky enough, she found her on the way to Dalanaar which kept them in contact once then.

"Well, the problem is simple. The food bags had been stolen by some grelkins and one of my students went after to get it and he didn't come back for a night now. If you are going west, then please do me a favor; find my bags and my student too." the druid said to her before sighing and covering his face in his hands again. With no time to waste, the young elf nodded to Dirania before departing to the grells camp.

* * *

It was almost noon now and the sun was shining brightly. Light reflected from leaves and grass, granting Shadowglen a breathtaking sight. Everything was beautiful until she sensed something foul. Stopping and looking around, she knelt down to see that the soil emanated dark glow and it smelt foul too.

'Corruption…' she thought to herself before getting up and continued to go west. She then came upon a row of tall bushes which grew over her head. She didn't remember seeing them before she took her druid training seriously. But plants grow all the time though.

Slowly, the elf took a step forward and pulled her arms out to part the leaves out. She could hear a campfire and some laughing around it. Finally, she saw it; the grell camp. Grells are smaller type of grelkin and are less mischievous, but a group of them can be a threat. She saw five of them sitting around the fire with some bags beside them. They opened the bags and pulled out some food out of them; Melithar's bags.

'These bastards!' Without waiting, she jumped out from the bush; surprising some of them. As they were dropping the bags and getting up, she raised her staff up and casted entangling roots. One of them got caught and was out of the fight. Focusing on the intruder, the rest of them charged forward to her, baring their fangs and claws on the way.

Noon at last, solar power was fully charged. Burning them using wrath might destroy the items she needed and could burn the bags if they dodge. Instead, she raised her staff up and using her energy to condense the light above. When one of the creatures came close to her, it was greeted by a light pillar in front of the way; dazed before the roots caught its feet. Two more jumped at her, only to meet with a hard swing of wood to their head; knocked out cold.

Now walking to the bounded ones and finishing the job, unconscious bodies of grells lay around the fire as if they were sleeping instead. Kneeling down and cleaning up the mess, the bags were packed again and ready to be turned in; saving for other camps as they would be emptied already. She got up with the bags around her waist and started searching for fel moss but she counted the bodies again.

"One two three… four. Wait… didn't I see-" The druid was cut off by a shriek behind her. Turning around but it was too late; claws are about to rip her face off. Despite how weak the monster is, but a hit to a vital part when unprepared could deal some damage. Time seemed to slow down for her, seeing every moment as the hand were about to connect to her face. But she saw something behind the demon; a shiny sparkle stabbed her eyes from behind the grells tent.

Then time went back to normal, the grell was blasted right pass her face. Turning back to see it lay on the ground; dead. While there were no sign on injuries, she could tell by the power it was hit by; druid's wrath.

She heard the tent opened and footsteps behind her. Spinning quickly, she saw an astonishing sight; or perhaps an amused one. A druid was standing in front of the tent; his robe and his hair were in mess. Mud smeared all over his head and face, patches of grass could be seen along his body. It looked like he had fallen into a muddy hole or tripped down over unlucky places.

But she looked at him carefully, even his hair was in mess, it still shone out green as the same as hers. His eyes were glowing yellow orbs much like her, was he a replica of her in opposite gender? And he was the first to break the silence.

"Sorry for making you into this mess. Those are Melithar's bags I was looking for but it was already done then." he said in a low, guilty voice while dropping his head and scratching it.

'This must be his missing student' she thought. Even him failing the mission, she wanted to thank him for saving her or her face would be missing. Before she could speak, he cut her off first.

"The story is, I was walking to the camp and didn't take his task seriously and so I was caught off guard. A slap of its paw to the head knocked the wind out of me for a night I think. Then I guess, they were having fun with me and put me in the tent. I woke up in time to see that one attacking you and took my revenge and that was all about it." he explained his story before sighing and shaking his head before raising his gaze up again as he remembered something.

"Oh, and the name is Nariandria or just Narian. What about yours?"

"Shaurelyrina"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Shaurelyrina? Maybe I will just call you Shau… Shauly." Narian chuckled a bit after saying that, making him looked like a child.

'This guy is weird' Shau thought to herself as a frown formed on her face. He realized that before apologizing with a smile. Then silence took over, his smile died down and without knowing, the two stared into each other eyes. It didn't live long before she popped her head up while her index pointed into the sky.

"And the fel moss. I almost forget about that. You can help if you want." Shau said blankly as she turned around and started to examine the grells. Narian couldn't just stand there and do nothing. He smiled to himself before helping her searched for the fel moss on the other grells.

After some minutes, Shau found out the corrupted moss were growing on the body of the grells. Before they know, the corruption already spread among the group. That's the reason for the grells to be more vicious than the ones she found while she was young. Scraping some of them off, she got a full bag of them for the research. Some were rooted deep within the skin but Narian made them easy.

The duo finished Ilthalaine's favor and packed everything up. Shau prayed for the unlucky one that managed to ambush her but was taken care by wrath. Its body faded, leaving the group with five sleeping members. With no need to kill, they sauntered back to their trainers.

"So… how did you become a druid?" Narian struck up a conversation while they walked. Leaves rustled and grass shifted. Late noon arrived by the time she finished her tasks.

"When I was young, I really liked meditating within the night. And I am rather interested about shapeshifting. Why did you ask anyway?" Shau replied while their feet strode through the grass.

"So I can remember that a beautiful night elf once told me about her life." said Narian with a grin on his face. It took a while for her to process his meaning but then, her face went red. He laughed about it while placing his arms behind his neck and straightened his look into the sky.

She turned her gaze to him only to find a smile on his face. With nothing to say, she turned back and sighed.

'Maybe he is just a _child_ after all' despite him looking a bit older than her, his attitude seemed like a cheerful boy. He might had played around when the grells got him or really unlucky. But she could tell that his druidic power was more powerful than her; how his wrath knocked the demon back further than her.

For the rest of the walk, they talked about how they had gotten into druidism. Narian told her that he became a druid because he wanted to be able to save _something_ precious. But Shau didn't press on him further. Then they exchanged some of the monsters information, ranging from beasts to legends. The talk was fun as they got their new friend; or more than that. Now on their sight, they reached their masters.

* * *

In front of her were plates of her dinner while cool air breezed around her. Shau was sitting on a bench outside the Aldrassil; the great tree of Shadowglen. On her right was Ilthalaine while the opposite seat of her remained empty. Dinner time has arrived and so they picked a spot beside the tree entrance with two ponds nearby. Her first day of her last training in Teldrassil has passed; many things passed by too.

When she and Narian reached Ilthalaine, their master was proud of her for bringing the fel mosses in perfect shape while she somehow got a druid back with her. He declared the rest of the day for relaxes time as he got himself a research to do. With that, the duo continued to Melithar while she didn't disappoint him. His mood brightened when he saw his bags returned and his student also. Narian apologized to him for his foolishness and learned his lesson before making up with all of them. With them at peace, Dinaria took her leave as she got things to take care of.

Left with the druids, Melithar suggested Narian to clean himself up and for Shau, he suggested her to rest or go inside Aldrassil and find something to read. Narian took heed the instruction and went to Aldrassil to get his clothes. Shau decided to walk around the area and recalled her childhood being here. Playing hide and seek, tagging with her friends, breathing in the fresh air of Shadowglen, all of her memories came back to her; reminding her of hours of fun years ago. Closing her eyes, she strolled around the great tree. Listening to the sound when grass met her feet, she smiled upon the sensation of being here again. With a few steps, she heard water flushing from the ponds. Rounding the corner to see, she almost gasped by what she saw.

Someone was washing himself up in one of the pond; a man by the back structure and his pants, a night elf. At first, she couldn't tell who it was but by looking at his hair, green flourished hair cascading over his shoulders, well taken care creamy beige skin and his pointy ears. He looked like herself in a man form, no mistaken; it's Narian.

But what astonished her was the marking on his back. A large white cresent was on his skin as it seemed to glow a bit too. What did he do to get that, a birth mark? But her mind went fast enough to pull out an explanation. She remembered about the oral tradition that passed down among the night elves. She heard this many times when Dinaria told her stories when she was little and found it in many books. When born, night elves that were lucky enough will be granted a blessing from Elune; which is a crescent on the back. What it did or the purpose of this is unknown to her, but he was seemed to be lucky to have that. Without warning, Narian quickly turned around in her direction; shocking her out of her thoughts.

She shadowmelded in time to be out from his sight; seeing his expression, she was confused by the way he gave his look. Unlike his normal cheerful self, his face was full of sadness and despair. It seemed he was thinking of something; something he wanted to forget about. His eyebrows rose as if he felt being watched. But after finding nothing, he sighed to himself and turned back.

Almost getting caught, Shau waited for him to completely gaze away before she jumped back behind the tree. Her face was full of regrets for being there at a wrong time. Enough walking for now, she had reading on her mind right away. Still close to him, Shau strode carefully; not wanting to make any sound.

Reaching the entrance, she saw many night elves bustling around. She didn't get a chance to wander around when she was a kid and didn't take a look inside the tree, but now she could. Injured elves were resting in the main corridor. With open view from the inside, refreshing air whisked in and relaxed them. Merchants were chatting around in the same hallway. Class trainers were working in their own quarter, ranging from the first floor to the top. Shau could see the druid quarter in the inner sanctum of the hallway which draws her interest. After greeting some pass byers, she proceeded towards the room.

Her footsteps changed from meeting with stone floors to wooden. Unlike others, her surroundings were rich in nature. Plants grew among the floor and corners, flowers blooming along the wall; druid's sanctum was meant to be in a nature environment after all. After some breaths of cool, humid air, she noticed a man sitting in the middle of the room. His uniform was indeed druid's robe and how he concentrate in meditating; a druid trainer. Knowing he was busy, she slipped away quietly and not interrupting him.

As she was about to leave, a voice emerged from behind her. She jumped from the sound before turning around quickly.

"Greetings, young druid. I am Mardant, the main druid trainer in Shadowglen. We will meet again tomorrow, if you insist…" Mordant hollowed voice came out from him but his mouth didn't move. His eyes were closing while his voice came out. Knowing her duties, Shau bowed to him before taking her leave. She heard him said last few things about the Emerald Dream and how his voice came. Without thinking too much, she reached for the path that extended beside the quarter and went up. She continued to the last room where she saw some night elves studying with a couple of shelves nearby. Walking over and grabbing a book, she began her reading right away.

Now it was dinner time and she was with Ilthalaine, waiting for their last member. After Shau finished her studies, she found him waiting for her at the entrance. Her conservator told her to prepare for their dinner and so they went to the food vendor in the main hallway. Someday, the cook from Dolanaar comes to Shadowglen and cooks for a day, and this day they came in the morning. There are some lines in front but finally, they managed to get a handful of food. Zarrin was busy cooking things up while Nyoma prepared the ingredients. Even after sitting there for a while, Shau noticed that the cooks were still busy. She then heard some footsteps and turned around to see Narian walking towards the group.

"Sorry for being late. Today's sky is brighter than usual, so…" Narian said with guilty in his voice but Ilthalaine simply smiled as he understood. In one of his hand was a bouquet of flowers, made from many kinds. It looked neatly arranged and made with precision which made her wonder.

"What are the flowers for?" Shau asked with her curiosity, her eyebrows perked up a little.

"Just for alchemy purpose… oh I know! You want it right?" The group was in complete silence before he and Ilthalaine burst out in laughter. She responded with a blush and looked up again to see them continued laughing.

"You never change, Narian." Ilthalaine said but with chuckles in his voice. Narian stopped laughing now and turned to her with a grin on his face. Seeing this could continue, she changed the subject.

"Um, can we start eating yet?"

* * *

Dusk died down while the night crept through the sky. Some night elves went back to their home in Dolanaar or Darnassus while some remained to stay. The Aldrassil was mostly asleep now from today's eating. As the master, Ilthalaine decided both of his students to stay outside with nature and picked the same spot they were eating. Three tents were set around a magical campfire which doesn't burn the grass. They were taking turn on cleaning themselves up while their master went alone to the moonwell north of the ponds, thus leaving them by themselves.

"Don't make me shadowmeld myself, you got it?" Shau ordered him with a scowl on her face. She was standing by the fire while holding her nightgown in her arms. Opposite of her is nobody other than Narian.

"Okay, okay. I won't peek, I promise... or maybe not." he answered while a grin formed on his face; his signature grin. Shau couldn't do anything but sighed before heading to the ponds. Narian couldn't help but smile as she walked to the ponds and started u dressing herself; always with her back to him. With the tent blocking the view, he could only hear a sound of water splashing; he tried to keep his promise. But as minutes passed by, he couldn't resist the urge anymore, thinking to himself: 'Just a peek, nothing more'

Only her back was visible while the water covered her lower part. He was amazed by how much she took care of herself; especially her skin, smooth and soft. Enough peeking, he turned back only to find their master standing, crossing his arms.

"It looks like, you just got caught, you pervert." his master said to him with a stoic face, devoid of emotions. Narian couldn't find a reason for this but only to apologize.

"Sorry... I couldn't help but-" Ilthalaine cut him off, getting up to him and placing one of his hand on his shoulder.

"You like her, don't you?" Narian was caught off guard by the question. He only sighed, dropping his head in response.

"Well... I feel that, she isn't like other women I have met. Something draws me to her, that's all..."

"What are you guys talking about?" A voice came out behind them; Shau was here without them knowing. She will get really mad if they told them the truth which nobody would ever do.

"I am talking to him about the plans tomorrow and Mardant, the druid trainer. You should already meet him in Aldrassil." Ilthalaine answered; trying to be as normal as he could. She nodded in response but still kept her frown on Narian. Knowing it was getting dark, he changed the subject back to the night.

"It's my turn now. You can peek if you want... you already did that don't you?" He said while faking a confused look on his face. Still new to mind games, Shau gasped when he mentioned what she saw in the afternoon.

"How did you know?! _Wait..._ " Ilthalaine face palmed as she said that before letting out his cackles.

"He just made that up and you fell right into his trap. Oh Elune." he laughed at her for being so naive. Shau flushed deeply as she turned towards Narian, looking at her with a warm smile. This was the first time she saw him looked at her like that, making she flushed harder by thinking of that. He then sighed before grabbing his clothes and headed to the ponds.

"And don't mind the marking on my back. I was born with it after all." he said while packing his clothes down and began undressing; saving for his pants. Shau couldn't help anymore but to inspect his body further; his broad chest, muscular back, lively green hair and bright yellow glowing eyes. Only the skin that was different, her skin is lovely lavender while his is brightly beige.

In one of the lone tent laid a night elf form. Their master was lying on his back while smiling softly.

"Only first day and they made quite progress. Who knows what they might be in the future."

* * *

Sound of fire crackling, wind blowing outside the tent, Shau lied down in a simple white linen robe. Today she has learned many things and lessons, fun and happiness. But what makes it important is that, she found a companion which makes her remember this day _forever_ ; the day they met.

About to go to sleep, she heard one of the tent opened and footsteps. But she didn't care as she was exhausted by today's activities. If there's something big, they will warn her for sure; perhaps. Without much worries, her eyes drooped down and went into a slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dawn arrived, the glade was full of birds chirping; it was the beginning for her second day in druid training. The tent was opened; light stabbing her eyes. She blocked it with her hand before adjusting her sight to the figure in front of her. Knelt there was Narian in a leather outfit, staring at her with a warm smile; same as the one the night before.

"Get up already, you lazy bum." said Narian before he swept the tent covers open, teasing her grogginess as she tried to shake it off. Narian then took his leave before mentioning something that shook her awake.

"If you don't get up now, somebody is going to watch you taking a bath. And indoors well isn't open right now, so..." Narian grinned while turning his back at her. Shau jumped at the statement before grabbing her outfit and brushed out of her tent. She only found Narian packing the tents up while Ilthalaine was nowhere to be seen.

"He is preparing for our lessons today. Just get naked already... or I will do it myself." words popped out from his mouth so naturally, already arranged for teasing her. A frown formed on her face while her cheeks went in flame.

"You bastard!" Shau spat out, his childish behavior annoyed her, but the picture of him smiling popped up in her head, calming her down for no reason. But still, she finally snapped, she didn't care what happened to her but she wanted him to get away; for now. She stormed passed him and headed towards the ponds before putting her clothes down on the edge. She jumped into the pool before shadowmelding and began undressing herself.

"So disrespectful, doesn't he know about 'respect'?!" Shau muttered to herself; didn't want to trust him anymore judging by his playful behavior. She cleaned herself quickly, reaching for her towel as fast as she could as shadowmeld began to break. She wrapped it around herself in time, put on her leather attires and grabbed her things before heading back to her tent. She saw that all the tents had been packed up while her belongings were placed on a crate near them. She stuffed everything down into her bag, arranged them neatly and put it over her back. She saw Narian walking towards her and picked the tents up but she ignored him and went to the Aldrassil.

Some were already awake; mostly the merchants. They were preparing their stocks, carefully not to disturb the ones that were sleeping in the hallway. Shau saw Narian went right passed her into the druid quarter with the tents in his arms.

'So, druids support sleeping outside after all' Shau thought to herself before hearing them being laid down on the wooden floor. She could see the druid trainer from the day before talking with someone else; no doubt it was Ilthalaine. Before she could eavesdrop on them, she heard footsteps coming out from the door. It was Narian, ascending towards her; sweats beading on his forehead. In his hand was a basket while the other was carrying two water bottles. He stopped in front her, his eyes darting around for a place to sit. When he found one, he walked to the spot and sat down while nodding his head at her to follow.

Her anger died down a bit but still, she went up to him and sat down on the opposite side; not in a mood to talk. After she joined, Narian gave her a bottle which she abruptly accepted and then reached for the basket. He pulled out a Baguette and handed it to her.

"We have got only breads this morning, wait until noon for a full meal." he murmured as his hand went to reach another Baguette and took a bite. Shau looked and hers before hesitantly chow off the top. Hunger started to consume both of them; only more bites could take care of it. After one was gone, more soon followed. Water flowed through their mouth before continued emptying the breads. Minutes later, they were ready to begin the day.

"Today is when your real lessons start. Mardant Strongoak will take care of you from today until when you are strong enough to begin your own adventure." Ilthalaine introduced them to Mardant, the druid trainer in Shadowglen. Both Shau and Narian bowed to him, paying respect to their new teacher as he returned the gesture. He wore a leather tunic and held a wooden hammer in his hand; looking not the same as he was in a robe the day before.

"Well, I got other young like you to be taken care of. I hope you learn well." he said to them before taking his leave; leaving them with Mardant. After gazing at the conservator until he went out of sight, they returned their eyes to the druid in front of them. Shau felt nervous; her encounter with him before made her think about his power.

"Greetings, young druids. I am Mardant, the druid trainer in Shadowglen. Before anything else, let's introduce yourselves. The girl-" he stopped suddenly, confusing her. She noticed that he turned to face Narian and closed his eyes. Narian was closing his eyes too; both of them looked like they fell asleep while standing.

"...Narian and Shau..." Mardant murmured out their name while slowing opening his eyes. Shau was surprised by what he said, she hadn't told him her name before. Her curiosity peaked, turning to Narian for the answer to this. He was already awake and returned her stare with a smile. It felt disgusting at first, she was angry at him but it started to die down as time passed. Returning to her normal mood, she gaped at him; waiting for the answer.

"You seem to know about the Emerald Dream and perhaps, have entered it before. To be honest, I am impressed by that." Mardant's voice reached her ears, making her more confused than before, but she got the hint by that. She had heard about the Emerald Dream when she began her druid career and how druids must go there from time to time; leaving the mortal world. But she never know how to go there and what can one do there, only being told that it will came to her one day.

"It will come to you one day, young elf." Mardant mentioned her before sitting down on the wooden floor. Narian followed while Shau sat down on her heels.

"Nice to meet you, Shau and Narian. Now we can finally start... No, I want you two to mediate first." said Mardant, closing his eyes afterwards. Soon after, the three went to another world.

When Shau closed her eyes and started to focus on her thought, it wasn't like the ones she had done in the past. Usually, she could only feel her energy surging throughout her body, but this time, she could feel more. The coolness of morning air touched her skin, fresh smell of grass with dew forming around, energy flowing around her body as the inside surged through her. The ground started to fade away; silence took over, now she couldn't feel anything. Not even what she has recently felt, no air, no mana, no presence of others around her. Before she could feel fear rising up in her, green lights cast over her vision; she didn't realize when did she open her eyes or how, but she saw something among the glows; a hand. It was getting closer to her, as if waiting for her to grab it. She couldn't tell whose hand it was until it stopped in front of her. Lights condensed behind the hand, an image formed. The shape resembled a night elf, floating in the air while offering her a hand. He looked similar to her; green hair and yellow eyes. It's Narian.

Without much choice, she hesitantly reached out to him and grabbed it firmly with one of her hand. He started to float away, dragging her along. Shau felt herself started to float and went along. She didn't remember when she stood up or when her body became as light as a feather, but she didn't care about it. And slowly, they flew towards the light.

"Come... the Emerald Dream beckons..."

* * *

Opening her eyes, Shau found herself back in the druid sanctum with the other two. They were also getting back to their senses and joined her.

"Well, that's your first time in the Emerald Dream. We normally took the trip when we were dreaming but casting a sleep spell on you worked too." Mardant said as he stood up before them, satisfied with her first visit. Shau could recall what happened to her when she went to the Emerald Dream and what lies inside; green mists smeared all over her, strange looking trees grew all over the place and something they called; nightmare. Mardant showed her what she could do while in the dream and what happened inside there. She could feel her life essence grew stronger after she woke up and knew how to go there when she dreams by herself.

"Narian can teach you more if you want to learn about it, but for now, let's get started already."

The first thing they did was to channel their energy before releasing. Shau noticed that her wrath shone brighter than before as it hit the dummy. Her sunfire also increased in diameter and more concentrated of solar energy. Narian was ahead of her, being able to do the same as she did, but stronger and quicker. As time passed by, their mana was burned out before resting for a while and had them replenished.

Grasping lunar power during the day is not an easy task nor conjuring sunfire during the night is, but it will benefit in many situations. Narian could feel the power of the moon after searching it for some time and managed to light up a dummy by moonfire while on the other hand; Shau was having a hard time finding the energy but succeeded afterwards. After learning their new power, they tried firing starfire but only harmless sparkles came out before fading away. Seeing what were his students trying to do, Mardant smiled softly as they were eager to learn new things.

"It will take you a while to be familiar with it, but after mastering it, you will be able to channel enough energy like... this." Mardant hammer glowed as he raised it up into the air, small blue particles swirled around the head before he swung his hammer down, firing a starfire right into the target. The dummy splintered into pieces when the bolt hit it dead center, tiny stars appeared on impact. The duo gaped in awe by what celestial power could do even when it was weak at a time and how could a fully charged one does. With their new inspiration, they set off to work and trained until the sun shone high in the sky.

"What are we going to do this afternoon?" Narian struck up a conversation as usual while eating their lunch. While Ilthalaine was away, he got some spider legs kebab and a few boiled eggs with him, lying in their stomach after some bites.

"Maybe more astrology or shapeshifting, perhaps?" Shau replied, gulping down some water while the other hand reached for an egg. If not for the noisiness in the break time, they could get warned for chewing loudly, but they enjoyed it anyway as they were surrounded by pleasant air. They sat on a wooden frame on the left side of the entrance which is opened to the outdoors while remaining inside.

"Well... I have something to do. Tell him if I come late." Narian told her after he finished his lunch before getting up and walked towards the entrance; leaving her alone as he walked into the glade. She sat there for a moment; confused by what he meant before finishing her lunch soon after. Before the training continued, Shau decided to spend her remaining time to continue her reading from the day before. With that, she ascended her way to what she called; the book room.

Time passed and the break was over, people went back to what they were doing and the druid's room continued its lesson. This time, Narian didn't come late like before, but he still brought a bouquet of flower with him. Mardant nodded as Ilthalaine already told him while Narian packed up the flower.

'What is he going to do with those flowers, alchemy research? He must be hiding something' Shau thought as he put the flowers away. She took a glance at him from time to time; trying to find out what he had in mind but found nothing suspicious at all. But at the moment, she must concentrate on her teacher and deal with him later in the evening.

"Now, let's continue, shall we?" Mardant said to the two as he brought up a knife from his back pocket while straightening the other arm out in front of him; smiling wickedly at his students, especially Shau. Without warning, he slashed his arm right into the artery, blood gushed out from beneath the skin, spilling onto the floor. Shau almost scream by what she saw, gasping while covering her mouth with her hand. She turned to look at Narian who is staring in shock but hold back his emotions. They continued to watch in horror as their master bled to death, and it was close.

Before that could happen, Mardant quickly channeled green energy in his other hand; a green glowing flame. He then pushed the glow into the wound, sucking it completely as the flame was absorbed. He sighed and gave himself a smile, the blood stopped flowing out from the cut; the artery was closed. The skin was slowly joined together, closing the wound as it let out a faint glow. Within seconds, the cut was completely healed, leaving no scar on the arm. He turned his gaze towards the druids, standing still as he did something terrible.

"Well, that was Rejuvenate. With your mana, you can turn it into a surge of life stream and heal the injuries. It takes practices to be able to heal major wounds like the one I have shown, don't think of doing it. Try and heal a small cut on your finger first." instructed Mardant, handing the knife to Shau who was still shaken before leaving them as he needed to clean the mess he did. Shau stared at the knife, feeling nervous to try it herself but slowly make a small cut on her finger as she noticed that Narian was looking at her; smiling warmly. When a droplet formed, she channeled her energy into the bleeding finger. Trying to convert it into life energy, she thought about the mists she saw in the Emerald Dream; how she felt nourished among them. As she expected, her finger let out a faint greenish glow, flowing around while being absorbed into the wound. Shortly after, the flame was gone along with the cut.

"Let me try it too." said Narian, standing beside her up close without her realizing. She spun around by the suddenness of his voice, finding his face closed to her; grinning while his hand reached out for hers. Shau felt the knife being tugged away from her grip; already in his palm as he slowly stepped backward, making distance between two of them. She could not hide her blush but only to watch him cut himself and tried out the new spell.

"He's the playful one, is he?" Mardant murmured under his breath, observing them as he entered the room; smiling at them before cleaning up the blood pool. When his students were good enough, he let them out to the hallway and helped the wounded night elves by what they could. The druids set to work until dusk crept over the sky, ending their first training day.

* * *

Lying in the tent was a druid, resting from what she faced during the day; from waking up till entering her tent. After the day with Mardant, she spent the rest with the same plan as the day before; taken care by Ilthalaine for the night. The dinner was the same, Narian cracked up some jokes like his cheerful self while carrying his flowers. Taking turn in bathing but shadowmelding this time before parting their ways into their tents. Many moments came across her mind; entering the Emerald Dream for the first time, watching her master bled to death, healing the others in the noon but something stood out from the others, her encounter with _him_.

Raging at him, being guided by him, being face to face with him; she tried to get them of her mind but they always linger. She couldn't help but sighed and let her thoughts ran wild, closing her eyes from exhaustion; hoping to drift off to sleep soon. Before she could rest, something shook her from sleeping; a sound of a tent being opened and a few steps into the grass. Her curiosity consumed her, already heard them on the night before; she must know, now.

Shau waited for the steps to go far from the camp before slowly sitting up and exiting her tent. Careful not to make any noises, she saw Narian's tent flew opened; he was the one who sneaked out the night before and this night. Silence surrounded her, only the snores from Ilthalaine's tent and steps far from the camp could be heard. With no time to waste, she quickly followed the sound, carefully not to make some herself.

The noise made it way to the main road, connecting Shadowglen and Dolanaar which made her felt strange, 'what is he doing?' Still in her white nightgown, she tried her best not to break the silence; she could shapeshift into a panther and prowl after him but she chose not to. She finally caught up with him, seeing a figure in a distance; green hair and was wearing the same night robe from the day before, no mistaken, it's Narian.

'Where is he going?' she thought to herself while stalking him, they were close to the Shadowglen exit now. Her eyes wandered around for a moment before seeing something on the ground; tiny color scattered on the road. Upon inspecting carefully, she found out that; they were the petals of the flowers Narian had collected during the day.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

'The flowers...' her mind was processing for the answer for this; what was he hiding from her, why did he lie about them? She will sure know them this night if she doesn't get caught. Paying attention to him, she blended herself within the night in chance of him turning around. Approaching the exit, a lantern shone among the dark, revealing the ground below; she could be seen easily in the light. Changing her plan, she insisted on prowling in the panther form but couldn't as she saw him increasing his pace; almost running. Prowling will slow her down and she could lose track of him, without any choices, she decided to wait for him to round the corner ahead.

Exiting Shadowglen, she quickly made her way across the lantern and stopped at the corner he rounded before. She poked her head out finding him turning left and walked down from the road; he was heading towards the Starbreeze village, abandoned when the corrupted Gnarlpine bears attacked. Fears rose up inside her; how dangerous it was at night, the fully grown nightsabers, enormous spiders, and the Gnarlpine bears.

"What are you doing?!" Shau muttered under her breath, seeing how crazy he was. He was on the grassy plain by now and started ascending his way into the night. She changed into her panther form and prowled after him; he slowed down to a walk by now. She left the corner and jumped onto the ground from the road, seeing an image of him in the darkness before her. After a minute, they descended into the shadow; the lamppost at the Shadowglen exit could barely be seen. She heard growls and legs scooting in the darkness; the beasts were surrounding them. She saw glowing eyes of the sabers among the bushes and around a giant tree, glaring at him. She could see in the dark, being a night elf, but she couldn't count the numbers of hostile creatures around her. She knew she was safe in her stealth, but what about; Narian?

As she expected, they burst from the shadow, all targeting at their prey. Shau screamed out in her mind, almost breaking her stealth and jumping to save him but she felt something stopped her. Before the beasts could touched Narian, they halt their movement, standing still for a while before dismissing him and went back to their domains. Tears rolled down on her furry face, almost seeing him die. She saw him stopped for a moment before continuing to the destination; something touched her sight, his back was glowing. The lunar beam shined onto him from the sky through the thick foliage, following him as he walked. She could see the crescent marking on his back letting out a faint glow through his robe; the blessing protected him.

After walking for a while, she saw a moon light shined onto a building; they reached the village. Most of the houses remained in shape while some were missing a door. The shrine with a moon light shining upon had cracked in the stones. Even abandoned, sometimes people come here during the day for some purposes but rarely at night. She followed him through the village, passing cottages infested with cobwebs on the ceiling until they reached the other end of the village. He continued walking and stopped at a spot down from a hill. Shau stopped and moved beside him so she could see what was he doing; it was horrible.

His face was full of sadness and despair, unlike his usual self. The lunar beam stopped shining on him, leaving them in the darkness. She saw the bouquet in his arms, full of flowers packed neatly together and something dropped on them; tears. She was shocked by the sight she saw, he was crying inside but couldn't hold back the tears. He then knelt down onto the grass, stretching his arms out over a mound; a grave. He put the flowers down beside the other bouquets that had been laid down on the mound, countless of them.

Silence took over as he closed his eyes and prayed for the one beneath the ground; soft prayer chimed among the night. Tears flowed down on his cheeks, finishing his prayer and paid a moment of respect for the fallen one. Shau, sitting on her back legs stared out with regrets; she didn't know about his past. Tears left her eyes and fell onto the ground, joining him as they mourned.

Stars sparkled over the sky, moonlight emanated through the leaves, they didn't know how long they were there but it was time to rest. Narian stood up, opening his eyes while looking up into the night, sighing before letting a smile formed on his face. Shau soon followed, ready to go back for a night. He turned around, preparing to leave and headed back to the village, she prowled behind him while leaving a respectful distance. His pace was slow which didn't outrun her in stealth as if he wanted to spend his time alone.

Passing the village, approaching the road, they entered Shadowglen again. Reaching the camp, she waited until he entered his tent before entering her own quietly. Transforming back into her elf form, she laid back onto the ground, tired already from the night. What she witnessed flowed through her mind; the event that broke her heart. Questions formed in her head, waiting for answers to be found but today she got one about him; the flowers. She let out a sigh before closing her eyes and went into a deep slumber, or perhaps, the Emerald Dream.

Green mists showered over the dream, life force surged around her. Opening her eyes, she realized that she wasn't in her tent but somewhere else familiar. It took her a moment to remember the Emerald Dream she once entered in the morning with Narian and their trainer. Strange, before sinking into unconsciousness, she felt tired but in here, she felt refreshed and full of energy; it was a dream after all. She didn't remember of choosing to come here but it called her instead; 'Great, no sleeping'.

With no time to waste, she looked around her surroundings; twisted trees with random hills everywhere, not the same area as she saw before; she could be anywhere in this endless dream. She thought about getting to know better about the dream and what she could do, she tried to think of flying around in the dream like how she could for the first time. Surprisingly, she was now floating in the air, being able to soar around the area. She flew up and landed on a twig of a twisted tree, high above the ground, she could see the landscape around from her view. Fog hovered over the ground while something caught her eyes; sparkles shone among the mist, drawing her attention.

She flew towards the source as her curiosity consumed her, sinking into the mists before finding herself on the other side of them. She gasped when she remembered that there could be another people in the dream too, standing in front of her was no one other than _him._ Narian stood with his back against her, lowering his hand down from practicing his celestial fire. He turned around and surprised to see her out of nowhere, gaping before smiling at her.

"Welcome to the Emerald Dream, again. I didn't expect you to find me here... Shauly." he chuckled after picking on her again but stopping after seeing her different. Instead of frowning at him, she appeared to be silent and not responding to him. Confused, he approached her before waving his hand at her eyes until he heard her voice came out; "Why didn't you tell me..."

"Is there something wrong, Shau? I'm sorry if I upset you. Are you alright?" His smile died down while his voice was full of concerns and cares.

"It's nothing... I just need some rest." she replied in a raspy voice, trying to hide her sadness. Narian nodded, understanding before moving and sat down onto the grass beside her. He sat back onto his hands, staring up into the greenish sky as he began.

"You know? I think you chose the right choice of becoming a druid. For sure you will master it someday unlike me; I couldn't even save _something_ I wanted to. I-"

That's it; she couldn't hold it back anymore. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she hugged him tightly. She buried her head into his shoulder, crying upon him. Tears kept coming out, sinking into his robe until it was soaked.

"Why didn't you tell me?! Why do you have to keep it all alone?! Why..." She felt him straightened himself up, his hand rested onto her back, soothing her softly. He let his other hand hugged around her and ran his fingers through her hair. He smiled softly, comforting her as she sobbed. It didn't matter how she knew, now he must continue forward with his life; but not alone. She didn't know why but felt sorry for him, she wanted to help him. She noticed that there were animals in the dream too but she didn't care; only he was in her mind.

* * *

While Narian was bathing, Shau had her time with Ilthalaine. Sitting by the campfire, morning air entering their lungs, she had questions in her mind; about Narian. As the only person who seemed to know about him, she began asking him questions.

"Um... Mister Ilthalaine, may I ask you... something?"

"Yes, dear. What is it?"

"Can you tell me about... Narian's past?"

Ilthalaine paused for seconds, shocked by the question. He looked at Narian down at the ponds before returning his gaze to her and sighed; he knew this question would come. He bent forward, clasping his hands together as he readjusted the log he was sitting on, preparing to tell a story. Shau came closer too, ready to hear his past; and so, he began.

"...Narian is a normal night elf like us, despite his birthmark which happens to be a blessing. His life may seems normal, but if you learn of his past, you will know how much it takes him to stand to this day... the day I met him. A hundred years ago when you were still young, I was doing my own business in Shadowglen; teaching of course. Out of the blue, I was given a favor of retrieving my friend belongings from the Starbreeze village. With no free time, I had no choice but to go there during the night; no one would want to do it. Experienced I am, the beasts there decided not to have me for their snacks; I managed to reach my destination without harm. After I got the items, a cry burst out from the village end; a Moonkin's cry. Sane people would have run for their lives, foolish me had chosen to investigate instead.

"I proceeded towards to voice, preparing myself for what could happen. Reaching the end of the village, I descended into the darkness, nearing the cry every second. Then I saw it, right over a mound; a young Moonkin. It was kneeling down in front of the mound, giving a full view of its back; a crescent mark glowing faintly. My mouth went agape, not knowing what to do in that moment until it stood up and turned towards me. My body wouldn't move an inch, leaving me to continue to stare at the young. It let out one last cry, full of sadness as I could tell by what I heard before it collapsed in front of me. I almost jumped by that but something told me to watch, the Moonkin's body started to glow, the crescent on its back shone brightly. Then everything turned white for a brief seconds, the flash dazed me for a while until I got focus on something before me; a night elf.

"A body of a night elf was laying on the ground, a young boy as I could tell from his face. He has green hair, beige skin, covered in a tattered robe. Judging by what were left on the robe, I could tell he is a young druid; but what was he doing here alone? My instinct told me to pick him up and take him to Shadowglen, which I did without hesitating. The moment I lifted him up, I could see a crescent glow through the robe; same one the Moonkin has. Without much thinking, I started to walk back to Shadowglen with the boy in my arms. That day... is the day I found him.

"I took him in as one of my student and took care of him. At first, he didn't seem to trust everyone else, even me, but he softened after some time. He started to be more open to me and one day, he decided to tell me about his past. When the corruption grew, the Gnarlpine started to be more hostile to the inhabitants of Starbreeze village; his parents were one of them. Then came the day where they couldn't stand the danger anymore, people moved to the other part of Teldrassil. Unluckily, his family was the last to immigrate; sinister was placed amongst the three.

"At night, when it was the time to move, they were surrounded by the corrupted bears; completely alone in the darkness. His mom and dad fought their way out and almost succeeded, and then, it happened. As they were about to be free, dark mist emanated from nowhere and engulfed them. They were paralyzed, dropping their weapons to the ground. The young elf was consumed by fear; the bears came closer to them every moment, sealing their fate. Poor boy, he watched as his parents were swarmed completely by the raging Gnarlpines; not being able to help but only to watch in despair. He could hear laughter beyond the mist, laughing at his surrender as the bears turned to him. The last thing he saw was a bright light surrounding him before his vision went black; painful cries from the bears entered his ears before blacking out. He only regained his memories after he woke up, but couldn't recall what happened after.

"Heck, he couldn't remember how the mound at the village came from but he knows that, he had made it somehow. From my guess, I'm pretty sure that... he transformed into a Moonkin and went berserk for years; mourning at his lost. The mound must be his parents' grave made in his Moonkin form sometime after the incident. That was what I know of his past; painful one. You could ask him if you want, I'm sure that he is willing to tell you... something he kept from me. I hope that answered your question."

Shau was stunned by what she heard, she couldn't believe the story. How could a cheerful, happy person hide his feelings inside so well? How did he cope with all of that? How did he withstand the pain to this day? How... Countless questions formed in her mind, each had her feeling in them; caring and pity. The only person who had the answers to her questions was him, only him.

"But that is wrong from what he did to me, picking on me with his 'childish' jokes all the time. He doesn't have any regrets when he did that!"

"Because..." "He likes you"

"Liar!" Shau spat out the moment he said that. She didn't believe, a person like him had an eye on her. He could behave like that to other women; she was only another target to pick on for fun. She stormed pass him into the glade, wandering alone while cooling herself down.

'She is taking flirting the wrong way. How naive she is...' Ilthalaine closed his eyes and sighed, how inexperienced she was in relationship. He was surprised that he didn't notice Narian at the pools anymore, but sitting on the log Shau was sitting; beside her. With prowling and shadowmeld, druids could sneak around and eavesdrop on their conversation just like Narian. He found him breaking out from shadowmeld, his hands placing on his laps while looking down onto the ground.

"I-I am sorry, Narian..." Illithalaine apologized for telling his secret, but there wasn't any anger on his face. Instead, he was relieved that he told her; smiling softly while his eyelids drooped down a little. It was now up to the time for her to have a feeling for him, perhaps.

* * *

Noon arrived, sun shone brightly in the sky; despite the rainy season this year. The lesson for second day was to continue practicing starfire and rejuvenation thus, mastering the basic of druid. Narian could finally fire a starfire although not as powerful as wrath while Shau was following behind but took on the healing instead. They trained all the morning, feeling hungry as their energy was drained. Somehow Shau noticed that, while practicing on her own, she could caught glimpses of him looking at her once in a while, making her felt uncomfortable but something inside her took that as a sign of caring, or something much more. She tried to ignore them and focused on training until she found herself sitting on the same spot as the day before.

The lunch was quiet; no conversation being brought up while they ate. It went the same in the morning; she wasn't in a good mood so he didn't interfere. Unlike other days, Narian didn't seem to be cheerful as he was but still, he tried to be as happy as he could. Behind his face, she could tell what was he feeling, holding inside all along, but despite of that, he hid them really well. What happened during the night could be the cause of this, she thought.

"Excuse me, it's time for me to go now..." he broke the ice, finishing his lunch and stood up from his seat. On the other hand, Shau was also done with her meal and ready to continue with her break. Narian watched her getting up, adjusting her outfit before their eyes met. Everything around them froze, only silence and they remained. He looked at her face, devoid of expression but it felt different from the ones before; he could feel something other than that but only a little of it, before giving her a bright smile. Everything started to move again as he turned around and walked towards the entrance; leaving her to stand there alone.

Feelings surged through her body; what happened seconds ago? The moment her eyes laced upon his, her mind started reacting in a way she didn't know. She did her best to hide it from him and kept a straight face but something leaked out. She didn't know what that was but now her mind was shaking. At first, she was thinking of continuing on reading in the library until that happened. A new thought appeared from nowhere, leaving her with the other choice. She heard him stepping on the grass outside and started to go further; her mind shook faster, waiting for something. Then it went, taking the other choice, she sprinted out to the entrance, turned around, and after him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Grass rustled, wind brushing against her face as she ran; she was nearing the outskirt of Shadowglen. Weird though, when she rushed down the Aldrassil, she could hear his steps but after passing the wooden arch, nothing was in her sight; where did he go? Trusting her instinct, she kept moving forward until she reached the exit. The night elf Sentinel guarding the entrance noticed her as she stopped for a breath. She gazed around, only to find an elf standing nearby; confused.

"Um... excuse me; did you see a green-haired druid coming this way?" Shau spoke up, asking the guard as she walked up to her.

"Sorry, but I didn't see anyone." the Sentinel replied, shaking her head as she answered.

"Oh... thank you anyway." Shau bid the elf a farewell before walking back down the trail. He might take the other paths and now busy picking the flowers, she supposed. With that, she thought of going back to the library and continues reading; or perhaps, search for him. Sighing, she strolled back to the Aldrassil, looking up as she walked.

"Maybe I should go back to reading... or look for-" rustling of bushes on her right took her attention; making her turned to face the sound. The bushes went quite after shaking for a while, leaving her in an odd silence. Shau narrowed her eyes as she inspected, looking carefully until the ground in front of her made her gaze locked; a trail of footprints could be seen in the soil, newly made. She walked slowly to the prints forming a trail into the bushes before kneeling down to take a look further; not footprints, but paw prints.

"What in the..." she muttered under her breath; the paws were similar to a nightsaber's, but much bigger. Shadowglen is like a nursery, for trainees' elves and even animals. The young are nurtured in Shadowglen and move out when fully grown, so there should only be small ones, not big ones. Aside from the size of the prints, she didn't recall of seeing them when she ran passed or maybe she wasn't paying attention.

Curiosity began to make its way over her mind; the urge of following the trail that could lead into the inner forest. She stood up, eyeing the bushes which the forest was resting beneath. Move on, or follow; she could choose the former that might miss something big or the latter which might put her in predicament. She took a glance around her, seeing no one in her sight, she chose to follow the trail and find what made the sound. She sighed, resting her eyes for a moment before moving forward into the bushes.

When she made it to the other side, she was now in the forest. Foliage blocking most of the light, trees aligned everywhere while bushes grew from place to place. Fireflies were flying around despite during the day, but the dimly lit forest made up for that. She could see the trail went on into the deeper part of the forest, going around trees and bushes. She followed the trail carefully until she found herself at the edge of Shadowglen, nothing was there as she expected.

"I should just go and continue with my reading," Shau muttered, bored from finding nothing. She leaned against the rocky cliff before sighing and closing her eyes; "or maybe just rest here for a while..." she continued.

A sound of a branch breaking shook her awake, fully alert of her surroundings. She started to hear bushes rustled from one to one, soft steps around her; she was cornered by something. She began casting wrath in her hands, ready for anything as her eyes locked onto something. It was too late; she was jumped on by a panther, tackling her against the cliff. She cried out as her hands struggled to fight, not wanting her life to end like this. But something hit her, the impact wasn't hard when the panther pounced on her and now while she was struggling, the panther stayed still and did nothing. Its eyes were on her, watching her squirmed under itself before letting it out.

The panther started to glow, its body started to change. Blue furs started disappearing as the appearance was getting more familiar. With a puff of smoke and sparkles, the panther was nowhere to be found; only a green-haired druid lying on top of her. He pushed his arms out to not crush her underneath while he laughed; a hearty familiar tune to be heard. It took her a moment to get where this was going before he pushed himself off her.

"Got you good didn't I?" Narian chuckled; kneeling down in front of her while she sat up properly. Realization came down on her when she realized she was pranked by him as a frown formed on her face.

"Oh Shauly, don't be so angry, but you look cute in that way." he grinned at her while her mind was still working; not used to flirting. Her face went red while her frown deepened further, crossing her arms before sighing. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the cliff before opening them to find nothing. Narian already shifted beside her and sat back with his arms on the side.

"After hearing you got up from your seat and made for the door, I shadowmelded in time as you ran pass by. After you were gone long enough, I went to the bushes that you saw and shapeshifted into a panther and made everything up." he told her how they ended up here. Shau remained quiet while staring ahead into the wilderness; not paying much attention to him.

"I saw that you were in a hurry, why were you in a rush?" asked Narian, getting her attention. She was stunned for a while, being caught off guard for a sudden question. She lowered her head, unfolding her arms as they slid down onto the ground.

"...I just want to help you collect the flowers, that's all." she replied honestly, images on that night filled her head. Him crying in front of a grave; thinking about that would only darken her mood. Not wanting to make it worse, she lifted up her face before turning to look at him.

His smile from a moment ago was gone, replaced with a face devoid of emotions. He was shocked by a single statement, unlikely to be heard, but now he had. Deep inside, he was thinking, bad memories started making their ways back to him but were engulfed by a ray of light, healing his mind. Then it hit him, right on the spot.

"Narian?" her voice was short lived as he moved onto her without warning. She gasped when she saw him right in front of her, his arms on the wall, surrounding her. She stared right into his eyes, brightly glowing as she felt them being locked onto hers. She felt him moved forward, leaning closer to her until it was only mere inches between their expressions was none but she could feel how calm he was, how he cared for her within his eyes. He began to move even closer, slowly approaching her face while she continued to stare into his eyes, not doing anything as he moved. She closed her eyes when their face was only an inch apart; expecting anything to happen as time froze. Suddenly, all of his weight was gone.

"Sorry..." she heard him said as she opened her eyes, seeing him standing at her feet while letting his back faced her. She lay there, still overwhelmed by what he had done. She didn't know what was he feeling or how he was as she couldn't see his face, but she had a tingly feeling about him; something drew her to him.

"Let's get going already." she was shook off from her mind by his voice before getting up and went in pace with him.

* * *

Shau found herself back on the track before, out of the forest. Narian continued to the exit while she walked behind him within a distance, seeing his back all the time. She wanted to know what happened to him when they were in the forest, did something go wrong? The best way to know is to ask him herself.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked him while walking, speeding up to get a sight of his face. She noticed that when she asked him, he slowed down a little while she got up to him. He then stopped.

When she stopped in front of him, she finally saw his face. Like in the forest, it was empty of emotions as his head lowered a little. She continued to look at him; his gaze fell right onto the ground as she watched. She decided to inspect his face a little more while he continued to stare down at the ground. It was well taken care of, clean and smooth. It wasn't long when she saw a smile, soft and warm, formed on his face. His gaze slowly rose to reach hers.

"Well, if I am paralyzed on my left, I would be all right." he replied, watching her face for a moment. She frowned when she got it and playfully punched him on the shoulder. He gave off a laugh as she crossed her arms. She stood there, carefully thinking what just happened; feeling care for him, playfully punched him on the shoulder, why did she do that? She asked herself while that feeling made it back to her again. She suddenly felt someone yanking on her arm, dragging her along. She realized that Narian already moved to her when she was thinking and now grabbing her arm. Did she get lost in thought?

"We don't have all day to laugh and chat, just get going already." he said while taking long strides, still grabbing her arm. Shau made her way up along him before feeling his grasp moved; slowly, from her arm, to her wrist, and her hand. Within seconds, she realized that he was holding her hand, making her felt uncomfortable. Still, his hand was warm, sharing his heat with her. Shaking his hand off might be rude, so she let their hand entangled with each other as they walked.

Within a few minutes, they were nearing the Shadowglen's exit. Shau noticed that he slowed down while something caught her sight; the same Sentinel she met earlier was standing on her duties, watching them approaching her. When they came to a stop, the grasp on her hand was loosened, letting her hand fell to her side. Narian went forward to the guard, leaving her to stand there alone. He greeted the elf while making his way to the crates nearby the entrance, ducking down to pull something out. She saw them speaking to each other while the she elf would took some glances at her for a few moments. She could hear her laughing while he wasn't amused, keeping a straight face to her. Feeling uncomfortable, she hoped that he found the thing he was looking for. He then pulled a basket out before walking back to her.

"Sorry for keeping you there, I didn't expect any company until now. An extra basket wouldn't hurt." Narian said to her, handing her the basket while he went back to fetch one for himself. While he was gone, Shau felt herself being watched again, no one other than the faithful guard. Feeling nervous, she returned her with a soft smile, getting one back too. When he returned, he gestured her to continue on their trip, dragging her along with him again. Being grabbed by her arm, she saw the elf gave her a big smile as they were leaving.

"You two will make a good couple." she heard her said, right into her ears, but she didn't pay attention as Narian was dragging her until they were out of Shadowglen. They walked for a while until rounding the corner ahead of them before stopping. He let go of her arm before walking up to the sides of the road and knelt down with his basket. Shau walked up to him to see flowers scattering over the area. She went forward and lowered herself beside him before a thought came to her mind.

"Who is that Sentinel?" asked Shau, taking a glance at him before returning to the flowers.

"She is my senior I have known when I first came here. She wanted to be one of the Sentinels and now she is... don't tell me you are jealous of her." he replied, a grin formed on his face as he turned to her. Shau ignored him while continuing to stare at the flowers, the mention of him coming to Shadowglen hit her. Not wanting her mood to somber, she changed the subject.

"Why do you pick this spot? Flowers bloom everywhere." said she, her hand reached up to touch one of the flowers, feeling it. He was surprised at the change of the subject, but he decided to get to the point.

"Well, we could make a bouquet with only this batch. It saves time than to go and pick from many places. Besides, the other batches are still growing as I already picked there." he replied, moving closer to the flowers before picking his basket. He eyed her for a moment, looking for something.

"You can make a bouquet for yourself if they remain, and also you know how to pluck up one right?" spoke Narian, locking eyes onto her as she plucked up one of the flower skillfully before handing it to him.

"Here, take it." she said blankly, waiting him to take it. She couldn't hold her sarcasm long enough before blurting out a smile as her eyes locked onto froze for a moment before she felt something warm touching her hand. She already knew what it was as the flower went from her grasp to his. When time went back to normal, she quickly pulled her arm back, turning away from him before continuing with the flowers. Reddish hue formed on her cheeks while she picked a flower into her basket, trying to to pay attention to it; why did she react like that? What she didn't know was that, Narian was still watching her while she worked. He returned to picking to flowers afterward.

"Let's pick up some flowers, shall we?"

* * *

Water fell from the sky, landing on leaves and grass; it was raining in the noon. She and Narian already made a bouquet which was now in her arms. She sat down on the wooden floor in druid's quarter, waiting for her lessons to continue. With her help, picking up the flowers and arranging the bouquet went much faster which left him some time to spend. This time, he wasn't late as usual with her, and now he was standing in the center of the floor, dummies surrounding him. She watched him stood there from the side, confused when his eyes closed down. She heard him murmured something but couldn't make out the words. Suddenly, the entrances to the room were slowly covered up by massive roots. The roots moved quietly, not attracting any attention from the outside. Shau only realized when the room was fully closed; no sound and light could pass through. Then a flash of light stabbed her eyes, grabbing her attention.

"...Na-Narian?" she stopped when she saw him. His body was glowing, light particles emitted from him while his figure started to disappear. She noticed that the room went dark in a matter of seconds; his glowing body was the only source of light. His structure started to change; his body grew larger, taking a form of something. Before she knew, the light already dissipated, leaving only a body emitting out dim light, a Moonkin. This one wasn't like the others she heard or saw, her Moonkin's form couldn't compare to this.

While the Moonkins usually have two colors, this one was pure white. White furs striped over the body, white feathers draped over the shoulders, she could only see white in her sight. Its horn was finely shaped, well taken care furs glowing on the body. She noticed a white glowing crescent on the back which emitted most of the light; it was the same one as Narian's. She gulped when it took a step towards the dummies.

"Fall..." Shau heard his voice echoed from the Moonkin, raising its hands upward. A ball of energy started forming up on the ceiling of the room, small but shining brightly. It slowly fell down while dispersing into many starfires, each one falling towards each dummies. She watched in awe when the fires landed, they didn't explode or scattered into flames, but rather engulfed the dummies within their light. A sound of mana dispersing could be heard, the dummies were now gone from her sight along with the starfires. The room started to light up again as the Moonkin started changing its form. Roots slowly dispatched from the doors while a familiar figure was standing in the center of the room; everything went back to normal.

"Not destroying, but erasing its existence from this plane. It's a powerful magic, mustered by many." his voice came to her, his back facing her gaze. He turned around, revealing his face to her; a soft smile was on his face. Shau stared at him, her mouth slightly opened until a voice came out from the upper room.

"Alright, let's continue shall we?" Mardant appeared, walking down the slope with something in his hands, bows and arrows. Both druids turned to face him as he stepped onto the training ring. Narian quickly moved to Shau's side, facing their trainer while he was looking for something.

"Um, I don't know why, but I think something is wrong here. I don't see any dummies where they should be." Shau heard Narian shushed her as well to keep a straight face, trying not to gain suspicion from the elf in front of them. Slowly, he turned around to face his students, eyeing them for a while before sighing.

"Well, at least we are not doing astral power this afternoon. A target would be enough." he said to them before walking back up to the room, leaving two of them alone. Shau found this as a chance to ask him about the moment before.

"...Narian, what happened?" asked she before turning to face him, looking into his eyes. She knew that he knew what she was asking about, she could tell by those eyes. They were half opened while looking down; they were full of memories, images he had seen. Her eyes traced down onto his lips, curved into a smile. His face looked tiresome to her. His eyes closed down before his lips parted.

"The third mask, that's all..." he replied before springing his face up, smiling like he usually do. She knew he was hiding something but decided not to ask; at least he was happy like himself. She let herself smiled at him, locking her gaze with him once again. She quickly pulled away when she realized, turning the other way Mardant had gone. A feeling rose in her, similar to the ones earlier during the day. Why did she feel like that, why did she react like that when it was him, she asked herself some more before hearing footsteps from the upper room; Mardant appeared again with an archery target in his arms, carrying it towards them. When he reached the floor, he set it on the middle of the ground before he went to grab the bows and arrows he had left off and handed to them.

"I see that you both progress quickly so I guess some fun won't hurt." said Mardant, moving to their side before pulling something from his back. A bow was in his hand while the other went behind again. Now an arrow appeared before he notched it to the string of the bow. After aiming, he released his fingers, the arrow landed perfectly in the middle.

"When it comes to druids, it may sound weird if we use ranged weapons, but it doesn't stop us from learning them." he said, walking to fetch the arrow from the target before inspecting his students from aside. True, for her, she had never seen any druids with ranged weapons; now she had. She placed the arrows in one of her bag before tucking her bow up. She took a glance at Narian, mimicking her movements; this was first time for them. Luckily, she used to watch the archers training when she was a child, enough for her to memorize their poses. She tried to recall them as her hand reached for an arrow. Notching it to the string, she didn't know how to aim, looking at the top or bottom, she didn't know but fired it anyway. It landed in the inner ring before an arrow landed next to hers.

"They are quick learners, aren't they?"

* * *

Facing her cushion, she thought about during the day. Like every day, a little diary in her mind is her favorite thing to do before going to sleep. The story of his past, the encounter in the forest, his _third mask_ all of these bugged her the most. That feeling w their eyes locked, it concerned her mind even more. Sighing, her eyes drooped down as she thought a meditation would clear her mind. She let the silence consumed her, relaxing her mind as the night howled. Images of the night before started appearing, moments with him started to come back, she realized it would make it worse if she continued. Why did her mind betray her, had he already been lodged into her? A sound of a tent opening shook her off before she could continue; every time.

She could hear steps in the grass moving towards her tent before stopping in front of her. She turned around as the flap was pulled up slowly, moonlight entering her tent until it was fully opened. The man she saw was no one other than him, kneeling down to her level while holding the cover up. He was dressed in a robe, similar to the one in the night before. Moonlight shone on his face, revealing the same face she saw, but the moonlight enhanced it even more. She stared at him, looking into his eyes as a feeling rose up once again. Stunned by his face, she didn't stop until his voice came to her ears.

"...Would you like to come?" his voice reached her, asking her of something terrible for him. Weird though, it might be her ears but somehow his voice sounded like a lullaby, waking her from her thought. She slowly nodded before he backed up, waiting for her to come out. When she did, she saw him handed something to her, a bouquet they made during the noon. She accepted it as he turned around and made for the road. She followed him, walking up to him closely afterwards until she was beside him. She knew, this was going to be a long night.


End file.
